The Dread Father's Embrace
by ApertureMesa
Summary: A recounting of the Dark Brotherhood questline in which a lowly Khajiit goes from an assassin of the Dark Brotherhood to it's listener. Violence and Black Comedy ensue. Rating might increase because it's the Dark Brotherhood. I suppose it goes under crime?
1. Chapter 1

Somewhere in a dark, secluded area of Skingrad, cold steel could be heard slicing it's way past frail skin, the victim, a rather paranoid bosmer, could feel atrocious pain shoot its way all throughout his body, the sensation was most intense in his chest area, from where he could see a dark red liquid seep from the wound a sword had previously been in. The Bosmer, Glarthir, fell tumbling forward, on to his knees attempting to call for help "No! G-guar-ACK!" the attacker must have hit his lung, as he could barely speak above a pained, pathetic whimper with the occasional coughing of blood. Eventually, Glarthir fell to the ground, his eyes attemping to stay open, the world darkening around him. It was there when the killer dropped his sword in what could only be made out as disgust, he cast a basic flare onto an unlit torch to see what he had done, despite being held toward the corpse, the faint source of light managed to illuminate, if just barely, the face of a Khajiit, not just any ordinary bandit, though, this was the face of a skilled warrior, a prisoner who just barely made it out of the imperial sewers, and the Hero of Kvatch.

And he just murdered someone in cold blood.

"Oh...oh shit!" The Khajiit, despite performing such a killing complete isolation, could feel invisible eyes all around him and a cold breeze on the back of his neck, however, he was more focused on the matter of what to do with the fresh, and smelly, corpse in front of him. In the darkness of the night, he managed to make out a small pond with his Night-Eye ability, he could likely drop the body in there and escape the city before it could be found and traced back to him, these things happen all the time, right? His heart raced the entire time dragging the late Wood Elve's corpse into the area, what if a guard walked by and saw him in a carrying around the town's local eccentric? What if he left the body where it was for a guard to pass by and see? The city would be under lockdown in seconds! No, he couldn't go back to the Imperial Prison, he had to press on. The frazzled Khajiit's heart had all but stopped when the resulting splash from the corpse falling in was louder than he could have anticipated.

At that moment he dropped all pretenses and took off sprinting for the nearest way out of town he could find, upon seeing a door, he wasted no time stopping to open it, he slammed into it with all of his might...only to bounce off with what may be a broken arm. "Sir, are you okay?" A commanding, yet concerned voice diverted the killer's attention from his "stunt", it was a Skingrad guard on horseback arriving to see what the commotion was. "Oh, oh, of course, sir! I was just late for...the newest arena match!" the guard simply raised his eyebrow and took on a more inquisitive tone "You were for an arena match at midnight in the Imperial City, which is miles from here?" _Crapcrapcrapbytheninedivinesthisguyisgood "_Uh, w-well, you know the Imperial City! It's uh- it's a wacky place!" The Khajiit tried to think of anything that could get him out of this situation, he didn't dare look up to make eye contact with the guard, as his guilty eyes would certainly give him away, he waited for him to brutally debunk his alibi.

Instead, the guard merely chuckled "Yeah, I wouldn't put if past the Imperial City, have nice night, sir!" he turned around and continued his nightly patrol. The resulting sigh of relief from the Khajiit was large enough to knock down several huts.

* * *

When he finally got home to his rather small house, he inserted a rusty, metal key into a door reading. "Bahduzi's house, no thieves!" Bahduzi didn't even bother to check if he locked the door back, he merely tossed his sword, of which was now covered in crusty blood, onto the floor and collapsed onto the bed, hoping to wake up in the morning with this whole incident behind him.

"You sleep rather soundly for a murder."


	2. Rufio

"You sleep rather soundly for a murder."

Bahduzi's eyes shot wide open, the voice he had just heard was sinister, calculated, and admiring in a very unsettling way. The room around him was just barely illuminated by the morning sun outside and a single lit candle, in his groggy state he attempted to grab his sword off of the nightstand, only to knock the burning candle to the floor. Despite it having to be at least around six, his darkness surrounded every nook and cranny of the bedroom that wasn't near the frightened Khajiit's bed. Every hair on Bahduzi's fur stood up in pure fear as he slowly sat up to survey the situation, could this be the Imperial Legion? No, a guard usually had a loud, hammy voice, nothing like what he had just heard, besides, he would have heard the sound of his door being kicked in long before a guard could get into his room to speak with him.

The speaker crept their way in out of the darkness into Bahduzi's sight, casually putting out the broken candle with a mere stomp of a foot, lighting their own torch to illuminate the room without starting a fire. Despite the torch providing a well needed light source, the speaker's figure was still difficult to make out, he was wearing a black robe that appeared to absorb any light around him, his voice indicated that he was male and that was it. He gazed below at the horrified Khajiit, smiling, and continued his greeting.

"That's good, you'll need a clear conscience for what I'm about to propose"

Bahduzi was about to ask for the robed figure's identity when his train of thought was interrupted by the sword sitting leaned on the nightstand, from where he had previously attempted to grab it, strategies began to flood the Khajiit's mind, he could possibly toss his blanket towards the intruder, using it as a distraction while he grabbed his sword, but would he be able to fight him? What if he was a sorcerer who could freeze him to death with a quick Cold Touch, giving the Khajiit no time to scream, or a necromancer that could summon several zombies to devour him alive? The figure noticed his silence and commented on it.

"You prefer silence, then? As do I, my dear child. As do I. For is silence not the symphony of death, the orchestration of Sithis himself?"

Sithis? Bahduzi had not heard of anyone by the name of Sithis, could it be the name of the speaker's boss? In a lapse of judgment, he decided there could be no harm in a simple question. He opened his mouth and meekly squeaked out "Who- who is Sithis?". The speaker laughed at this, it sounded as though it was meant to come off as a chuckle, yet it came off as a frightening cackle "Not whom, what. Sithis is the void, the dread father, and I serve him as Lucien Lachance, Speaker of the Dark Brotherhood."

Bahduzi recognized the organization mentioned, he had read about it a book warning citizens of Cyrodil about them, a criminal assassins guild directly responsible for the deaths of untold masses. Suddenly, it came to him why the Speaker was here, he must have seen what became of a certain wood elf.

"Glarthir was but a toy, we had been leading him to believe in a conspiracy against himself, oh was he right, in all the wrong places. We carefully ensured that he all but distrusted everyone in Skingrad, and waited for him to finally snap and kill someone in an effort to escape this conspiracy, only to be recruited into the Dark Brotherhood, yet when a stranger arrives into Skingrad one day, murders him with barely a challenge, and manages to escape the town scot free? How could we resist?"

"Th- thank you, m-man? UH, I MEAN, um, sir? Mister Lachance?"

"Your exemplary work, your deathcraft has offered you a position within our family, if, of course, you're willing to complete an initiation."

An initiation? What more could there be after already killing someone? This was nerve wracking, with every pause in Lachance's speech, Bahduzi attempted to think of ways to fight back if he were to suddenly be attacked.

"Seek an old man by the name of Rufio at the Inn of Ill omen, appropriate naming for an Inn, isn't it? As a token of trust, I present you this: the Blade of Woe, it is a virgin blade, use it with the precision of a true child of Sithis. Once you have disposed of Rufio, the next time you sleep in a location I deem secure, I will reveal myself once more, bearing the love of your new family."

The most Bahduzi could do at this point was nervously accept the dagger being handed to him, it was rather small, likely designed for quick and easy sneak attacks rather than traditional fighting. As Lucien Lachance began to disappear into the shadows, Bahduzi had to have one more question answered, at his own risk.

"What...happens if I decline?"  
Lachance paused in his tracks, turning a head towards the bed, a smile growing wider.

"I would not advise that, the Brotherhood does **not** tolerate rogue assassins, you wouldn't want to be comparable to the Morag Tong, would you?"

The Khajiit frantically shook his head, not knowing who the mentioned group was, but realizing it would be best for his lifespan if he were to agree immediately with the speaker. Said speaker could be observed disappearing from disappearing from sight, becoming invisible...not very impressive, Bahduzi could use chameleon spells too.

* * *

Grass and rocks crackled underneath the Khajiit's boots as he attempted to navigate area he had marked down on his map, it was a dissonantly bright afternoon, considering what he had been travelling to do. The tavern he was searching for was located near the Imperial City, yet the area around it appeared to be remote and isolated, Bahduzi doubted if he were forced to go loud that an Imperial patrol would make it in time to intercept the assailant.

Upon finally arriving to his destination, the assassin-in-training was greeted by a two story tavern. Other than the sign, the exterior of the shed was largely unremarkable. Bahduzi rested his hand on the door, mentally preparing himself _Well, here goes nothing. _He pushed open the door, entering a cozy interior, across the counter there was a polite looking nord, almost certainly the innkeeper.

"Welcome to the inn! We've got plenty of rooms if you want one, ain't nobody staying here these days 'cept old Rufio" Well, this was fortunate, if the area was sparsely populated as the keeper claimed, there would be little risk of someone walking in on his "chat" with Rufio, and little witnesses. Still, he would require more information about Rufio before he could get a good start. "Who exactly is Rufio?" The innkeeper casually gestured towards a trapdoor near him, "His room is downstairs in the completely sound proof, rarely visited dungeo- er, Private Quarters, yes. Use that hatch over there, but don't expect a warm welcome." There was a noticeable a wink in his voice, catching on, the Khajiit nodded and proceeded, entering the lower quarters.

Bahduzi slowly crept along the floors of the lower room, lightly stepping, as not to let his boots make too much noise, his target wouldn't be able to call for help, but that would mean nothing if they could escape running out the door. Turning around the corner, carefully opening the door, he could see a frail looking old man sitting beside a bed, no doubt Rufio.

As Bahduzi slowly unsheathed his new blade, inching closer to the bed, be began to wonder, was what he was doing right? Was he truly about to murder an innocent old man at the command of someone whom he barely knew? Indecision caused his hands to tremble, his mind to wander, and to fail to notice Rufio turning around to see him.

"Who are you? What do you want? I've done nothing!"

Bahduzi almost dropped his dagger from the barrage of questions, the confused, yet accusatory nature of his queries caught the assassin off guard, what was he going to do? Strike and claim the life of an innocent man, or leave and face the consequences from Lucien Lachance? The only thing he was certain about was that he could barely move, let alone talk to the target.

"Look, I didn't mean to do it, you understand me?" The old man blubbered, whilst attempting to get behind the bed for some form of protection. "She struggled! I... I told her to stay still, but she wouldn't listen! I had no choice!"

Bahduzi's hand tightened around the Blade of Woe's handle, he had now learned of the man's true colors, his true nature, in a split second, he lunged forward and jammed the dagger into Rufio's chest, knocking him down to the bed and almost certainly knocking the air out of him. "Please! She made me do it! She would have reported me!" Each sentence infuriated the assassin more, he forcefully pulled the dagger out of the man's chest and slammed it straight into his head, hoping to shut him up for good.

Blood oozed from Rufio's temple onto the bed, Bahduzi cleaned off the blood from the blade and place it into its sheath. Feeling satisfied, he climbed back up through the trapdoor and spoke to the keeper.

"I just said hello to Rufio, could I have a room? Also would you deem this place secure?" He attempted to utter the latter portion of the question silently, despite him and the innkeeper being the only ones in the room. "Certainly! Just go to the- wait what?"_ whoops_ "Uhh, I mean let's hypothetically say that if I were to sleep in a room here, and there were a dead body in the basement, would a recruitor for a guild deem it secure?" The innkeeper took his hands off the table, clearly nonplused "Um, maybe? I suppose the Mages Guild would find that secure, they're usually stupid with maybe one or two sane men there."

Bahduzi quickly walked up the stairs, leaving little time for more follow up questions "Thanks! My, um, friend will be very happy to hear this in the morning! "But it's the afternoon-" "Okay, goodnight!"

* * *

The kjahiit yawned loudly, rolling over to look out the window for the time, while also noting a hooded figure in the corner of the room. "Man, it must be midnig- AHHH!" The figure chuckled, stepping toward the bed. "So, the deed is done. How do I know this? You'll find that the Dark Brotherhood knows many things, for you are now part of the family. Also, there's the dead body lying right in the same inn." Bahduzi lowered back onto the bed, sighing "So, what happens now?" "Well, as speaker of the black hand, I directly oversee a particular group of family members. You will join that group, and fulfill any contacts given."

Bahduzi knew he had no choice in this matter, for all he knew, he could just be a disposable recruit for Lachance. "You must go to the city of Cheydinhal, to the abandoned house near the eastern wall. Enter the basement, and attempt to pen the Black Door. You will be asked a question, answer thusly, "Sanguine, my brother." You will gain entrance to the sanctuary. Once inside, speak with Ocheeva."

"...Can I get a business card as an assassin?"

"Er, sure."


End file.
